A variety of basic cleaning tools are used to clean surfaces such as floors. These cleaning tools include conventional mopheads and the more recently developed flat mopheads (“flat mops”). These prior art devices rely on the thoroughness of the user to ensure that the cleaning was properly done. In particular, the user determines how much work is done for a given room, and when the cleaning device itself needs servicing (i.e., when the mophead should be washed, or when the disposable flat mop that should be replaced. It would be desirable to have a cleaning system which automatically monitors a user's activity to insure that the proper amount of work is performed, and to ensure that the mophead is cleaned or replaced at the appropriate time.